Posterior Chain Development: The Reverse Tabletop

It’s always a good time for posterior chain development and glute activation!⠀ ⠀

The Exercise: The Reverse Tabletop

⠀ Depending on the athlete, I’ve worked this little gem into various aspects of their programming: the warmup, glute activation, core training, supersets, the list goes on!⠀ ⠀ As I mentioned in my precious core training post, I like to train the “core” in a position of hip extension when working with endurance athletes in particular. They tend to have chronic tightness through the psoas and rectus femurs, so I deliberately avoid adding a lot of volume in a position of flexion. Instead, I opt to lengthen those muscles by working on full extension through the hips; after all, power comes from explosive hip extension!⠀ ⠀ For this position, the body should remain in a straight line from the knees to the shoulders; remember, we're always thinking about the integrity of the core. The cervical spine should be relatively neutral. Make sure that the knees and shoulders are stacked properly over the feet and hands. Weight in the feet should be primarily shifted toward the heels; you should be able to lift your toes up and wiggle them around in your shoes. And most importantly, squeeze those glutes! You should feel the posterior pelvic tilt in this position- make sure to maintain it for the full duration (keep that tail tucked!).

Try holding this position for 30-60 seconds at a time.⠀